• Damien Cox says yes: "Both Bell and Rogers are keen on a deal for Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo, and Burke was resisting such a move. He said repeatedly of late that he was "90 per cent" certain he wanted to go with the combination of James Reimer and Ben Scrivens in net, and had talked several times about his frustrations of dealing with Vancouver GM Mike Gillis, particularly since he wasn't sure dealing for Luongo was the right move." [Toronto Star]

• Want a zamboni? Flint, Michigan is auctioning theirs off on January 15. [Michigan Radio]

• The Honda Center now begins the daunting task of hiring more than 100 part-time employees ahead of the NHL season on January 19. [OC Register]

• IIHF president Rene Fasel on the NHL's participation in the Olympics: “Once the CBA is ratified and there has been some cooling-down period, we will sit together with the IOC, the NHL and NHLPA to find solutions how to make sure that Sochi 2014 becomes the fifth consecutive best-on-best Olympic event,” said Fasel. “As I have always pointed (out) whenever asked questions about NHL players’ participation, our doors are always open and I am confident that we will find ways — like we did in Nagano, Salt Lake City, Turin and Vancouver — to stage this event on the biggest sporting stage there is." [Vancouver Sun]

• If Lubomir Visnovsky has to report to the Islanders, he will. Poor guy. [Newsday]

• Sure, the lockout is going to cost the game some fans, but here's the sad truth: the true fans always come back. [ESPN]

• Dallas Stars CEO Jim Lites, on keeping green as the team's primary colour: "I think I would have been lynched and Tom Gaglardi would have been assassinated in his bed had we decided to make a [color] change." [Defending Big D]

• How dare you people suggest the Blue Jackets will finish last. 13th, maybe. BUT NOT LAST. [Dark Blue Jacket]

• Zdeno Chara on playing in Europe and whether he ever thought about staying: “We all knew [Boston] is where we wanted to be and this is where we wanted to play. Europe was good in the short term for a lot of us, but this is where we all wanted to be." [CSNNE]